THIS MANN IS CONTROVERSY’S FAVOURITE CHILD,
BOON OR BANE Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann is Punjab’s most popular AAP leader but he also attracts controversies party can do without in poll-bound state
CHANDIGARH: Barely out of the manifesto controversy in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) found itself in another mess on Friday when almost the entire Parliament rose in protest against its MP Bhagwant Mann’s live streaming a 12-minute video of his journey to the House, a possible security threat.
To add insult to injury, suspended AAP MP Harinder Khalsa asked the speaker to change his seat, saying he had too much of sitting next to a “drunk” Mann. Last week, Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh had also referred to Mann’s drinking habit.
In a damage-control on Friday, AAP Punjab affairs incharge Sanjay Singh tweeted a page from the Lok Sabha website saying that the site itself gave out security details. He also demanded alcohol-testing facility outside Parliament and sacking every MP that failed the examination. AAP ON APOLOGY SPREE
It has only been six days since AAP convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar to atone for the manifesto blunders. On Friday, Mann tendered his unconditional apology in Parliament. The rookie party eyeing power in Punjab in 2017 is on an apology spree since the manifesto gaffe early this month. But this time, a ‘sorry’ may not suffice.
The AAP suspects a larger conspiracy in the unanimous protest by MPs against Mann. Sanjay Singh tweeted that the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress (bitter opponents otherwise) had joined hands to “remove Mann as MP”. “It was a BJP tactic to divert people’s attention from the atrocities on the Dalits,” he said. LOVES TROUBLE
Mann (43), formerly a standup comedian, is by far, Punjab’s most popular AAP leader. But he also attracts controversies the AAP can do without in a pollbound state.
A video of his “strange behavior” after a press conference in Chandigarh in June 2014 shows him breaking down and getting into the boot of his car, begging journalists with folded hands to let him go. He had called the press conference to highlight the plight of Punjabis stranded in Iraq. Many thought he was either drunk or under depression.
Last year, after he filed for divorce, he posted on Facebook that he was leaving his wife to serve Punjab. His wife, Inderjit Kaur, who stood by him through his tumultuous political journey, returned to Australia, where he had settled down before joining politics in 2011. Mann was accused of exploiting a personal issue for political gain.
His alleged drinking problem resurfaced in October, when he was forced to leave a ceremony to remember two Sikh protesters killed in police firing at Faridkot’s Bargari village. It was alleged that he was drunk. Mann got on Facebook to deny the charges. This year, a video of his mocking government school teachers was trolled on the social media. In it, he recalls a conversation with his father, a government teacher: “All you guys (government teachers) do is scold children, punish them, and come home. Why do you want increased pay?” CROWD PULLER
Despite his idiosyncrasies, the AAP cannot do without Mann. His wit and oratory skills are crowd pullers. In 2014, Mann won the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat by more than 2-lakh votes. In many public meetings, crowd has forced other speakers to get off stage to let him speak. Hours after the Parliament furore on Friday, he addressed a large gathering at Lalru, and the public response was, like always, unaffected by the controversy around him. COMEDY TO POLITICS
Mann, who comes from a Sangrur village, started his comedy career from college youth festivals, and like others in the trade, cut comedy albums. ‘Kulfi Garma Garm’ was his first hit. He became a household while competing in the ‘Great Indian Laughter Challenge’. Several television shows and a flourishing showman’s career later, he “gave it all up to work for Punjab”.
In 2011, he joined the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) and lost the 2012 contest for the Lehragaga assembly seat. In March 2014, he switched to the AAP, and showed his “ambitious” side by now projecting himself as the AAP’s CM face.